Jasmine
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: Sometimes a name is just a name. Sometimes, though, it means so much more. Micro-fic. One-shot.


**A/N:** Micro-fic without plot. But there's some fluff! Hope you enjoy.

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><p>"Niles, could you please stop fidgeting? I can't sleep like that! And neither can our child." Daphne mumbled into the darkness. She'd tried to ignore her husband turning around and around again, but it was long past midnight and she wanted to sleep. Usually it was her who couldn't keep still. This new baby inside of her, however, seemed to have a calming effect on her.<p>

"I'm sorry, my love. The baby is due tomorrow and we haven't picked a name yet. I feel like there are so many things we need to do!" Niles' voice resembled the sound of a speed train and Daphne had trouble following his quick words with her exhausted mind.

"It's not important now, Niles. We've done this before, remember?" Their three year old son David was sleeping peacefully in his own room.

"I know. I just feel like we're not prepared."

"We're fine, Niles."

"We still need a name, though." Niles gently put a hand on Daphne's swollen stomach. The baby didn't kick, obviously asleep.

"We don't need it now. What I need now is sleep." Daphne put her hand over Niles' on her stomach, hoping it would calm him. She listened to him sigh, twice, before his breathing finally steadied. With a smile on her face Daphne let herself be carried away into sleep. Before she drifted off, she thought about the surprise she had planned. They hadn't picked a name yet, because Daphne knew more than Niles. And she wasn't ready to share it with him just yet.

Niles would remember his daughter's birth like this: a perfect, punctual child that he swore wore a smile the moment she was born. They had left David with his Martin and Ronnée, who had been ordered to be on stand-by the whole day. No one had believed the baby would be this punctual; except Niles of course. David, while clearly a Crane boy, had inherited much from the Moon family. Including his interest in temper tantrums and in all kinds of sports. This new baby would be more of a Crane, Niles was certain of it.

"Congratulations." The nurse smiled as she handed the bundled up baby to Daphne. Niles' hand hovered over this beautiful human being that was still so new and so innocent. He hardly dared to touch his daughter. He wanted to talk to her, impart her with wisdom; in that moment he realized what was missing.

"We need a name." He tried not to sound frantic, but he didn't want his daughter to be baby girl Crane. She needed a proper name.

"Jasmine." Daphne said without hesitation. They hadn't discussed that name and the obvious confusion on Niles' face made Daphne chuckle.

"Why – what made you come up with that name?"

"I knew we were having a girl," Niles looked even more confused, "After David, I just knew." Daphne explained to him and he nodded uncertainly.

"One night while you were on the phone with Frasier, fighting about this or that, I remembered something. That night before my wedding to Donny." Even years later the memory of that particular time in their lives could make Niles cringe.

"Do you remember when we stood out there on that balcony?"

"Of course."

"As much as I didn't want to, I was ready to keep my promise to Donny. You changed my mind and do you know how?" Niles just stared at her, suddenly afraid to react. One wrong step that night and they wouldn't have been here holding their second child. He was afraid to even take another breath, let alone answer what he hoped was a rhetorical question.

"You talked about night-blooming jasmine. I didn't know anything about that flower-"

"It's actually not a flower, it's-" Daphne cut him off with a grin.

"And that's why. When you started talking about night-blooming jasmine, which I didn't know, I just knew I couldn't live without it. Your pretentiousness – and I mean that in the nicest way possible – that annoyed me so much. I knew that if I married Donny, I would lose that. I would lose your friendship, your love and everything that is just _you_. You talking about night-blooming jasmine made me realize that."

"It was only so I could prolong the moment." Niles said in awe, looking at his daughter, then at the love of his life, realizing that only by being himself had he managed to achieve all of this. Tears clouded his vision and memories clouded his mind.

"And it worked; the moment never ended. So, do you agree we should call her Jasmine?"

"Yes." Niles breathed. He leaned down, kissed his daughter's soft forehead and then his wife.

"You've made me the happiest man on earth. In the universe, possibly."

"Don't exaggerate, Niles. I love you, you know."

"I love you, too."

**THE END**


End file.
